March 2, 1865 ThursdayThe remains of Jubal Early’s once powerful Confederate army were dispersed by Federal cavalry at Waynesborough, Virginia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_ ... ,_Virginia ). George Armstrong Custer, of Sheridan’s army, led the assault with nearly 5,000 men. Confederate troops on the left gave way and could not be rallied. Custer defeated two Confederate infantry brigades and a small cavalry force of between one and two thousand. Early and some of his officers escaped but the Federals seized some two hundred wagons, seventeen flags, and well over a 1,000 men. Early told of “the mortification of seeing the greater part of my command being carried off as prisoners.” Although not a major battle, Waynesborough was the last of that long line of names which made the war in the Shenandoah a legend spun by Jackson, Early, Sheridan, and others. Sheridan’s cavalry now turned toward Charlottesville, Virginia across the Blue Ridge. Early and his pitifully few followers found their way to Richmond.

Sherman’s Twentieth Corps entered Chesterfield, South Carolina after skirmishing nearby and at Thompson’s Creek. Three days of minor operations took place about Athens, Tennessee.

Gen Lee wrote to Gen Grant, proposing a meeting to try to arrive “at a satisfactory adjustment of the present unhappy difficulties by means of a military convention….” Grant replied Mar 4 that he had no authority to hold such a conference, and that there had been some misunderstanding.

President Lincoln asked Grant about news from Sherman and the general answered that there was every indication he and his army were safe.

In an effort to avoid capture by an armed boat from U.S.S. Fox, the crew of the blockade runner Rob Roy, from Belize, Honduras, ran her ashore and fired her in Deadman's Bay, Florida. The cargo removed from the blazing wreck consisted of cavalry sabers and farming and mechanical implements.

March 3, 1865 FridayThe Thirty-eighth Congress of the United States held its last regular session, finally adjourning about 8AM Mar 4. President Lincoln and Cabinet members went to the Capitol in the evening to consider a flurry of last-minute bills. Most important was an act establishing a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedmen%27s_Bureau ). The Freedmen’s Bureau would supervise and manage all abandoned lands and have “control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from rebel States.” It would provide temporary subsistence, clothing, and fuel and also would assign land. Another act set up the Freedmen’s Savings and Trust Company. Other measures dealt with Indian tribes, freedom for wives and children of Negro soldiers, railroad expansion, appropriations, and soldiers’ affairs.

Federal troops entered Cheraw, South Carolina after skirmishes at Thompson’s Creek and Big Black Creek, as well as near Hornsborough and Blakeny’s, South Carolina. The Confederates pulled back across the Pee Dee River and burned the bridges. Large amounts of ammunition and supplies were taken at Cheraw. Otherwise there was skirmishing near Tunnel Hill, Georgia and at Decatur, Alabama. A Union reconnaissance Mar 3-5 probed from Cumberland Gap toward Jonesville, Virginia. Federal expeditions operated from Memphis into northern Mississippi until Mar 11, and until Mar 7 from Bloomfield into Dunklin County, Missouri. Union operations against raiders about Warrenton, Bealeton Station, Sulphur Springs, Salem, and Centreville, Virginia lasted until Mar 8. The Northern escort convoying prisoners from Waynesborough northward in the Shenandoah Valley was attacked several times until Mar 7. Meanwhile, Sheridan’s unopposed troops occupied Charlottesville, Virginia as they headed in the general direction of Petersburg. Brigadier General Thomas J. McKean ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._McKean ), USA, assumes command of the Federal District of Morganza, Louisiana. U.S.S. Glide, commanded by Acting Master L. S. Fickett, captured schooner Malta in Vermilion Bayou, Louisiana, with cargo of cotton on board. U.S.S. Honeysuckle, commanded by Acting Master James J. Russell, sighted the sloop Phantom as she attempted to enter the Suwannee River on the west coast of Florida. An armed boat from the ship overhauled and captured the blockade runner and her cargo of bar iron and liquors.

President Davis wrote a Confederate congressman, “In spite of the timidity and faithlessness of many who should give tone to the popular feeling and hope to the popular heart, I am satisfied that it is in the power of the good man and true patriots of the country to reanimate the wearied spirit of our people…. I expect the hour of deliverance.”

President Lincoln wrote a message, signed by Stanton, directing Grant “to have no conference with General Lee unless it be for the capitulation of Gen. Lee’s army … you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands; and will submit them to no military conferences or conventions. Meantime you are to press to the utmost, your military advantages.” This signal order laid the policy for the generals in the surrenders to come, although the message was sent only to Grant and not to Sherman.

A naval squadron consisting of twelve steamers and four schooners commanded by Commander R. W. Shufeldt joined with Army troops under Brigadier General John Newton in a joint expedition directed against St. Marks Fort below Tallahassee, Florida. Although the expedition was not successful, in part because shallow water prevented the naval guns from approaching the Fort, the ships did succeed in crossing the bar and blockading the mouth of the St. Marks River, thus effectively preventing access to the harbor.

March 4, 1865 Saturday“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.” So President Abraham Lincoln concluded his brief, eloquent second inaugural Address in Washington. There was no discussion of policy or review of the past – just words of inspiration, hope, and understanding. “Neither party expected for the war, the magnitude, or the duration, which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other…. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully…. Fondly do we hope – fervently do we pray – that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away….” Thousands of Negroes, heretofore excluded from such affairs, mingle with spectators. Frequent applause breaks out during reading of Address.

Before the inauguration, Vice-President Andrew Johnson ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson ) of Tennessee took the oath succeeding Hannibal Hamlin. Ill, and having taken too much whisky as a medicine (as most historians now agree), the new Vice-President made a rambling, incoherent address which shocked many and was an inauspicious beginning to the day soon to be made great by the President’s words of conciliation, which were to echo far beyond that hour. The Senate met in special session to consider appointments and other business. In the evening there was a public reception at which it was estimated the President shook hands with some 6,000 persons. William G. Brownlow was elected governor of Tennessee by acclamation of unionists replacing now Vice-President Johnson.

In Richmond the Confederate Congress approved a revision of the design of the official Confederate national flag.

The fighting went on, with Federal troops of Sherman moving on an expedition until Mar 6 from Cheraw, South Carolina to Florence. There was a skirmish at Phillips’ Cross Roads, North Carolina and one at East River Bridge, Florida. U.S. transport Thorn was destroyed by a torpedo in the Cape Fear River below Fort Anderson, North Carolina. The Navy was busy trying to clear coastal waters of torpedoes or mines. William Wirt Allen, CSA, is appointed to Major General; and Young Marshall Moody, CSA, to Brigadier General. Major General Cadwallader C. Washburn ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadwallader_C._Washburn ), USA, assumes command of the Federal District of West Tennessee.

March 5, 1865 SundaySherman’s victorious Federal army was in and around Cheraw, South Carolina with only a minor skirmish nearby in the way of fighting. They were preparing now to enter North Carolina in the direction of Fayetteville. Federal troops operated from Fort Monroe to Fredericksburg, Virginia until Mar 8; and Federals scouted from Waynesville to Rolla and Lebanon, Missouri until the twelfth. A skirmish broke out at Newport Bridge, Florida.

President Lincoln asked Hugh McCulloch, Comptroller of the Currency, to be Secretary of the Treasury. William Fessenden had resigned after being reelected to the Senate from Maine.

March 6, 1865 MondayGen Joseph E. Johnston assumed command of all troops in the Department of North Carolina in addition to his other tasks. He now led all Confederate troops in the Carolinas and south of Petersburg, Virginia. Sherman’s forces meanwhile crossed the Pee Dee River and all the army was en route to Fayetteville, North Carolina. The only listed action occurred at Natural Bridge, Florida. Major General Alexander McDowell McCook ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_McDowell_McCook ), USA, is assigned command of the Federal District of Eastern Arkansas.

President Lincoln appointed Hugh McCulloch of Indiana as Secretary of the Treasury in place of Fessenden. In the evening the gala inaugural ball was held at the Patent Office, capped by a sumptuous midnight supper.

March 7, 1865 TuesdayIn North Carolina it was found, after the capture of Wilmington, that New Berne was even a better supply base, and a large force under Jacob D. Cox was established there. Organization completed, troops had moved out some sixteen miles early in March in order to expedite railroad repair toward Goldsborough. It was learned that Confederates had reached Kinston on the Neuse River. The area of the Federal advance, located between the Neuse and the Trent, was known as the Dover Swamp in one section and Gum Swamp in another. To the west and south Sherman’s army, plagued by miserable weather, entered North Carolina with skirmishing at Rockingham and Southwest Creek, southwest of Fayetteville. For most of the month there were operations about Licking, Missouri and Mar 7-15 a Yankee scout operated from Glasgow to the Perche Hills in the same state. Federals skirmished with Indians eighty miles west of Fort Larned, Kansas. Fighting occurred at Elyton, Alabama and near Flint Hill, Virginia. A Union expedition moved until the twelfth from Jacksonville into Marion County, Florida.

President Lincoln was issuing a large number of orders these days permitting private persons owning or controlling products in “the insurrectionary states” to bring such products into national military lines and sell them to agents authorized by the Treasury.

March 8, 1865 WednesdayJoseph E. Johnston had been sending troops to Bragg in North Carolina as they came in from the West, most of them from the Army of Tennessee. These troops were to confront the Federals moving out from New Berne. The Confederates under Bragg attacked men of Jacob D. Cox in the morning and a green Federal brigade broke. However, other units stiffened and repulsed further attacks in what was called the Battle of Kinston or Wise’s Forks ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wyse_Fork and http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/wyse-fork.html ), North Carolina which lasted through Mar 10. Actually it was intended to be a major move against the Federal invasion from the coast, but Confederate numbers were insufficient to sustain more than momentary drives.

Meanwhile, farther south, there was skirmishing at Love’s or Blue’s Bridge, South Carolina as Sherman’s army continued toward Fayetteville, North Carolina. Otherwise skirmishes flared in Jackson County, Tennessee; at Duguidsville, Virginia in Sheridan’s move to Petersburg; and on Poison Creek, Idaho Territory with Indians.

Sec of the Interior John P. Usher submitted his resignation to President Lincoln.

The Confederate Senate, 9 to 8, approved us of Negroes as soldiers. Gen E. Kirby Smith, Confederate commander in the Trans-Mississippi, wrote President Davis that he was aware of newspaper attacks on him and that, if the President desired, this letter might be regarded as an application to be relieved. Davis refused this, although he had long tried to obtain closer cooperation from Smith and troops across the Mississippi River. On the other hand, Smith had his own problems, both military and administrative.

March 9, 1865 ThursdayHeavy skirmishing continued at Kinston or Wise’s Forks, North Carolina between Confederates of Bragg and Federals of Jacob Cox, under over-all command of Gen Schofield. In Virginia Sheridan’s cavalry occupied Columbia on its march from Winchester to Petersburg. Other action included a skirmish at Howard’s Mills, Kentucky; a Union scout from Fort Larned to Crooked Creek, Kansas; and a Union scout until Mar 15 from Cape Girardeau into Bollinger, Wayne, and Stoddard counties, Missouri. Confederate cavalry under Wade Hampton and Joe Wheeler moved in to attack and completely surprised Federal cavalry encamped near Solemn Grove and Monroe’s Cross Roads, South Carolina. Gen Judson Kilpatrick ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Judson_Kilpatrick ) was nearly captured in his bed, but managed to escape and rally his men, although he allegedly fled without his trousers. The Federals overcame the Southern advantage with their own attack and defeated Hampton. Kilpatrick was a very unpopular commander both with his own men, whom he had pushed to extremes, and with the Confederates, due to his relentless destruction of their property. Later the affair was dubbed “the Battle of Kilpatrick’s Pants,” but was more officially known as Monroe’s Cross Roads, South Carolina ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_ ... Crossroads ).

Without comment, President Lincoln accepted the resignation of Sec of the Interior John P. Usher to take effect May 15. Asst Sec William Otto handled the department until James F. Harlan assumed the post.

General Lee, in a letter to Sec of War Breckinridge, stated frankly that the military condition of the Confederacy “is full of peril and requires prompt action.” Supplies were a very pressing problem and “Unless the men and animals can be subsisted, the army cannot be kept together, and our present lines must be abandoned.” However, if the Army could be maintained in efficient condition, “I do not regard the abandonment of our present position as necessarily fatal to our success.” He was not sanguine of the prospects from Johnston’s scattered force in the Carolinas, but he concluded that everything depended on the disposition and feeling of the people, and things were no worse than the Confederates had been justified in expecting from the beginning. Vermont becomes the 17th state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. Christopher Columbus Andrews, USA, is appointed to Major General. Major General Alexander McDowell McCook ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_McDowell_McCook ), USA, assumes command of the Federal District of Eastern Arkansas. Major General George Stoneman ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stoneman ), USA, assumes command of the Federal District of East Tennessee.

March 10, 1865 FridaySherman’s army was nearing Fayetteville, North Carolina with some difficulty from the wet weather, and after minor skirmishing with Confederate cavalry. Meanwhile, Johnston tried to gather his army together into one more potent force. The fighting in Kinston or Wise’s Forks, North Carolina ended after several serious Confederate attacks on Cox’s defenders. At night Bragg retreated to Kinston and then to Goldsborough to join Johnston. At Monroe's Cross Roads, South Carolina, Kilpatrick’s Federal cavalry rallied against Hampton and Wheeler, the leaders of the surprise attack of the night before. In Alabama there was a skirmish near Boyd’s Station. In Virginia a two-day Union expedition moved from Suffolk to Murfree’s Depot, North Carolina; and in Arkansas there was a four-day Yankee scout, until the thirteenth, from Little Rock to Clear Lake. Major General William Henry Chase Whiting ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H.C._Whiting ), CSA, dies as a prisoner of war at Fort Columbus, New York, from wounds received during the Federal assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, on January 15, 1865.

Gen Lee wrote President Davis that he advised putting the proposed law authorizing us of Negro troops into operation as soon as practicable, provided the President had approved it, and said, “I attach great importance to the result of the first experiment with these troops….” But the Confederate Congress was still debating.

March 11, 1865 SaturdayThe second step of Sherman’s Carolina Campaign came to an end with the occupation of Fayetteville, North Carolina. The whole army pulled up to and around the important center in the southern part of North Carolina after some light skirmishing. Sherman reported, “Up to this period I had perfectly succeeded in interposing my superior army between the scattered parts of my enemy.” But now he realized that Johnston would soon be in front of him. Sherman had sent messengers to Wilmington to make contact with Schofield, in order to report his presence and to arrange for cooperation with the force coming in from the sea, so as to form a two-pronged attack against Johnston.

In Virginia Sheridan’s cavalry was at Goochland Court House after a skirmish while en route from the Shenandoah Valley to Petersburg. From Fort Monroe Federal troops moved out on an expedition into Westmoreland County, Virginia that lasted until Mar 13. In the West there was an affair near the Little Blue River, Missouri and a skirmish at Washington, Arkansas. Brigadier General Edmund J. Davis ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_J._Davis ), USA, is assigned command of the Federal District of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

All those who had deserted from the military or naval forces of the United States and who returned within sixty days would be pardoned, President Lincoln proclaimed. If they did not return, they would forfeit their rights of citizenship. The Senate adjourned after a brief special session to deal primarily with appointments. Presidential secretary John Nicolay was confirmed as U.S. consul in Paris.

March 12, 1865 SundaySherman’s army remained in Fayetteville, North Carolina until Mar 14. They undertook the usual destruction of machinery, buildings, and property they deemed of use to the enemy, including the former U.S. Arsenal and the machinery brought from the old Harper’s Ferry Arsenal in 1861. In the morning a tug came up the Cape Fear River from Wilmington giving Sherman knowledge of the “outer world.” Naval units later joined in. Sherman told the Federals at Wilmington and New Berne that he would move on Mar 15 for Goldsborough, after a feint toward Raleigh. Sherman ordered the coastal troops to march straight for Goldsborough.

Elsewhere, there were skirmishes near Peach Grove, Virginia and at Morganza Bend, Louisiana; and an affair near Lone Jack, Missouri. Federal operations included an expedition from Fort Churchill to Pyramid and Walker’s lakes, Nevada; a scout in Loudoun County, Virginia until the fourteenth; a scout until Mar 23 from Lewisburg into Yell and Searcy counties, Arkansas; and a three-day expedition from Vicksburg, Mississippi to Grand Gulf and vicinity.

U.S.S. Althea, commanded by Acting Ensign Frederic A. G. Bacon, was sunk by a torpedo in the Blakely River, Alabama. The small 72-ton tug had performed duties as a coaling and supply vessel since joining the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in August 1864. She was returning from an unsuccessful attempt to drag the river's channel when she "ran afoul of a torpedo". Althea went down "immediately" in 10 to 12 feet of water. Two crewmen were killed and three, including Bacon, were injured. Althea had the dubious distinction of being the first of seven vessels to be sunk by torpedoes near Mobile in a five week period. The Confederate weapons took an increasing toll of Union ships as they swept for mines and pressed home the attack in shallow waters. Althea was later raised and recommissioned in November 1865.

U.S.S. Quaker City, under Commander William F. Spicer, captured blockade running British schooner R. H. Vermilyea in the Gulf of Mexico with cargo of coffee, clothes, rum, tobacco, and shoes.

March 13, 1865 MondayThe Confederate Congress, after much delay and debate, finally sent to the President a measure calling for putting Negroes in the Army and President Davis immediately signed it. The President was authorized to call upon owners to volunteer their slaves, and it was generally understood, although not specifically stated, that any slaves who fought for the Confederacy would be made free by action of the states. The law was too late to be of much value, but a few troops were raised and training began. Late in March Negro soldiers were seen in Richmond.

President Davis also sent a message to Congress which brought instant and stern opposition. He had requested Congress to stay in session as there was a need for “further and more energetic legislation.” He pointed up the perils facing the Confederacy but maintained that triumph was still possible through prompt decisions, including those of Congress. Davis accused Congress of retarding action. He suggested means of obtaining men and supplies, changes in the impressment law, stronger revenue acts, implementing recruiting laws – such as abolishing all class exemptions, a general militia law, and suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. As an indictment of Congress the message may well have been necessary, but it only alienated many members of both Houses.

There was a mild skirmish down at Fayetteville, North Carolina where Sherman’s army was recuperating from its march. Skirmishing also erupted at Beaver Dam Station, Virginia involving Sheridan’s cavalry; near Charles Town, West Virginia; and near Dalton, Georgia. Union naval forces and troops were mopping up along the Rappahannock River in Virginia. George Washington Getty, USA, and James Brewerton Ricketts, USA, are appointed to Major General; Wager Swayne, USA, to Brigadier General.

March 14, 1865 TuesdayThe Federal troops of Gen Cox occupied Kinston, North Carolina in their advance inland from the sea toward Goldsborough and a junction with the northward-moving Sherman. At Fayetteville Sherman’s men carried out reconnaissance to the Black River and Silver Run Creek, North Carolina. In Virginia Sheridan’s cavalry fought a skirmish at the South Anna Bridge as they moved steadily on toward junction with Grant. In the Shenandoah Valley there was a skirmish at Woodstock as Confederates harassed Federal outposts. In West Virginia Federals scouted against enemy pockets of resistance until the sixteenth from Philippi to Corrick’s Ford and until the seventeenth from New Creek to Moorefield. There was, in addition, a small skirmish near Dalton, Georgia.

Gen Lee told his President that Johnston was uniting his army at Raleigh and although it was inferior in numbers and lacking “tone,” the plan was to “strike the enemy in detail.” Lee added, “The greatest calamity that can befall us is the destruction of our armies. If they can be maintained, we may recover from our reverses, but if lost we have no resource.”

U.S.S. Wyandank, commanded by Acting Lieutenant Sylvanus Nickerson, seized schooner Champanero off Inigoes Creek in Chesapeake Bay. The Federal Customs Office at Port of St. Mary's had cleared the schooner and endorsed the accuracy of its manifest. Nickerson alertly examined the cargo and found more than one half of it not manifested, including a 'large quantity of powder. He also discovered that the customs official who had signed the clearance had $4,000 worth of liquor and other readily salable merchandise on board.

March 15, 1865 WednesdaySherman was on the move again. From Fayetteville, North Carolina and the Cape Fear River the Federal troops moved out en masse with Kilpatrick’s cavalry in front of Slocum’s left wing. The cavalry skirmished heavily with rear guards of the enemy near Smith’s Mills on the Black River and at South River, evidence of stiffening resistance. Sheridan meanwhile moved on in Virginia and was now at Hanover Court House and near Ashland. Skirmishing broke out at Boyd’s Station and Stevenson’s Gap, Alabama and a Federal scout operated against Indians from Fort Sumner, New Mexico Territory until Mar 21. Thomas Casimer Devin, USA, is appointed to Brigadier General.

March 16, 1865 ThursdayFour miles south of Averasborough, North Carolina, the advancing columns of Sherman’s left, under Slocum, attacked Hardee’s force blocking the route toward Goldsborough. Slocum turned Hardee’s right and the Confederates pulled back, throwing off other attacks. In late afternoon Hardee was told of Federals crossing the Black River below to turn his left further. During the stormy night Hardee gave up the position and marched toward Smithfield. There were 95 Federals killed and 533 wounded, with 54 missing, for 682. Total Confederate losses are put at 865. While hardly a major battle, Averasborough ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Averasborough ), or Taylor’s Hole, showed that the Confederates were once more actively opposing the Union invasion, albeit their army was small and far from ready. Lieutenant General Alexander P. Stewart ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_P._Stewart ), CSA, is assigned command of the infantry and artillery of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, CSA, is appointed 2nd in command of General Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate Army, fighting in North Carolina.

In the Shenandoah Valley Federals scouted from near Winchester to Front Royal, Virginia, and from Summit Point through Kabletown and Myerstown to Shenandoah Ferry, West Virginia. Until the eighteenth a Union naval expedition operated up the Rappahannock River and destroyed a supply base at Montrose, Virginia.

The Confederate Congress, piqued at Davis’ recent message, put out a statement denying his charge of insufficient congressional action. “Nothing is more desirable than concord and cordial cooperation between all departments of Government. Hence your committee regret that the Executive deemed it necessary to transmit to Congress a message so well calculated to excite discord and dissension….”

U.S.S. Pursuit, commanded by Acting Lieutenant William R. Browne, captured British schooner Mary attempting to run the blockade into Indian River on the East Coast of Florida. Her cargo consisted of shoes, percussion caps, and rum.

U.S.S. Quaker City, under Commander Spicer, captured small blockade running sloop Telemico in the Gulf of Mexico with cargo of cotton and peanuts.

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